Many of our Middle School youth have been part of our Coming of Age program this year, exploring Unitarian Universalist identity and articulating for themselves what they believe. With these youth presenting their “faith statements” to the congregation, let’s reflect on what it means to be a religion that, rather than telling people what to believe, helps us to figure out what we believe for ourselves.

We’ll also recognize our 2016–17 and 2017–18 UUFP Policy Boards.​

July 9th: “Winds Be Still”

There’s a saying that we should spend twice as much time listening as we do talking, given that we have two ears but only one mouth. In the UUFP’s Fellowship Circles, we try to put this into practice as a spiritual discipline, offering deep, compassionate listening to one another. Let’s hear from some of our Fellowship Circle participants about why this is such a meaningful and important practice.​

July 16th: “The Accident and the Transcendent in Unitarian Universalism”

We have recently begun a process to try out a new statement of our Fellowship’s mission, allowing us to articulate a vision that helps us to get from where we are to where we want to be as a religious community. Before we could draft that mission statement, however, we needed to identify the “transcendent” values that define us, that shape both our view of the world and our understanding of ourselves.

Special music will be provided by the UUFP Winds!​

July 23rd: “Building a Legacy of Values”

A legacy is usually thought of as a gift or inheritance from a deceased person. Legacy is also about life and living. It’s about learning from the past, living in the present, and building for the future. It’s more important to share what we have learned than what we have earned. Thoughts, ideas, beliefs and even principles require choice and consistent action to become values. Building a legacy of values lets us live forever!

For many years, octogenarian Alice Smith thought her life’s purpose was to learn. More recently at a Fellowship Circle she had an “Aha!” moment, saying, “What good is learning if I don’t share it?” She is long-term student of values, and with this service will share some of what she has learned.

July 30th: “Dorothea Dix: Unitarian Saint?”

Health care and public policy looms large on the American scene today. Unitarians and Universalists have long been advocates of justice in health care. Let’s take a look back at the career of Dorothea Dix, one of the remarkable Unitarian women of the nineteenth century, and her lifelong devotion to the cause of mental health care.

UUFP President Jim Sanderson is a long-time Unitarian Universalist. He has served as chair of the Sunday Services Committee, as UUFP Vice President, and as a Fellowship Circle facilitator. Before joining the Fellowship, Jim served as the locally ordained minister of the Jenkins UU Fellowship in Petersburg and for a decade as chair of the Religious Education Committee at First Unitarian in Richmond. A retired librarian, Jim has a strong passion for UU history, finding much in our past that can inform our present and future.